The New Life
by buffy1242
Summary: At the moment they have Zelena problems, but what about when that's over? Emma wants to take Henry back to New York, but what about Regina. She wants her son. How is she to fit into a happy family with a son who doesn't remember her. T for language, and some situations, Eventual SwanQueen.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Just so everyone knows, I will be ignoring some prominent cannon details for the flow of this story. Please enjoy and ignore some of the glaring plot holes. :)**

* * *

It had been something that I'd been thinking about on and off since Henry and I had arrived here. In the beginning I was almost desperate for him to get his memories back, to get him to understand what was going on here. If he knew then he could help. As much as any other mother of a 13 year old wanted to admit it, the kid was smart when it came to plans to combat the weird and wonderful things that happened in Storybrooke. That and he was going to be pissed that he had missed out on The Wicked Witch of the West and flying monkeys, even storybook characters didn't see those everyday. But the more I thought about it, the more I was sure that letting him live a normal life growing up was better for him. That was what I had told Neal before he died, and it was a subject that I was eventually going to have to bring up to Regina. Now, that was a conversation that I could do without. My focus at the moment was going to have to be bringing Zelena down, and making sure my family survived. All of my family, because whether I liked it or not and whether he knew it or not, the other parent my son had was Regina.

Over the last couple of days we had all discussed a number of things, most of which related to Zelena and what the hell she was trying to prove by going back in time to have Cora as a mother. If nothing else, at least this proved she was not only delusional but just plain bat-shit crazy. I'd lost count of the number of times Cora had tried to kill me and I had only known her for 5 minutes, I know she tried to kill my mother a few times and Regina many more as well. Thinking of a world with Cora in it again made me shudder beyond belief. I was the saviour, I was supposed to protect my family and save them but I had a hard time protecting myself from Cora let alone anyone else.

Sitting around the table with Mary Margaret, David, Henry and Regina I realised that talking to Regina about things was something that was not going to happen easily or on its own.

"Regina?" I asked quietly, trying not to interrupt Henry telling Mary Margaret about some of the parenting fails that she was sure to make.

"Yes?" Regina answered, unhappy to be pulled away from the perfect opportunity to stare at her son without him noticing.

"I think we need to talk about a few things." I told her, watching her reaction carefully.

She didn't disappoint. Her head whirled around to me so fast I wondered if it might come off.

"About what?" She asked suspiciously.

I tilted my head in the direction towards Henry, even though we both knew that she already knew that. What else would I want to talk to Regina about?

"Shall we go for a walk?" Regina asked me icily, a tone that even Henry picked up.

"Are you going somewhere, Mom?" Henry asked when he started listening to us.

"I just have to talk to Regina about some work stuff, nothing you need to worry about. We'll be back soon." I told him. "Stay with Mary Margaret and David, they'll protect you.

Regina snorted while Henry laughed.

"I don't need protecting, Mom." Henry sighed at me. Sometimes I liked him being a normal teenager, other times I missed him how he was before.

"Yes, you do." Regina and I replied simultaneously.

Henry shook his head at us as we left, and continued talking to Mary Margaret and David.

Regina and I walked a little way from the diner in silence.

"What's this about, Miss Swan?" Regina asked in a voice that said quite clearly that 'if this ended up being a waste of time I will make you wish you had never been born'.

"I think we need to talk about what to do with Henry after everything with Zelena is over. The way I see it, either we lose and most of us will never have been born or we win and I'm not sure what happens then but if winning means everyone stays in Storybrooke then I want to talk about what happens to Henry in relation to his memories."

Regina looked at me sceptically. Then she visibly deflated.

"I don't think winning will automatically bring his memories back, but I wouldn't rule it out either." She told me. It was obvious that she wasn't happy about this.

"Is there anything that you can think of that can help bring his memories back?" I asked.

Regina looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook her head negatively.

I sighed. This was both good and bad for me and the plans I had.

"Okay, here is what I am thinking." I decided it was time to lay all my cards on the table. "As far as I'm concerned, you are Henry's mother as well which means you have equal say on what happens afterwards. I think for this to work then we have to agree that we no decision is final unless we both agree on it. Does that work for you?"

Regina looks at me in shock. "Are you serious?"

I blink in surprise. "Of course. He is your son, whether he knows it or not. He deserves to have at least 2 parents."

"Thank you." She whispers to me.

We reach the park and take a seat together on a bench. I have a feeling this talk might take a while.

"This is what I've been thinking about, and I'm not sure how you are going to take it so I'm going to say it all and then if you haven't turned me into ash for even thinking about it we can talk about it. But my point is still the same, if you don't like the idea then we don't do it." I tell her.

Regina just nods to me to continue.

"If Henry doesn't get his memories back I am quite happy to keep it that way. He was happy in New York, Regina. He had friends and a school life that was more than battling fictional characters and evil villains. No one tried to kill him or kidnap him. In many ways that was the life I wanted for him when I gave him up. I want to take him back to the life he knows, my parents don't need me any longer, they have a new baby coming. I'm done with this town, I have been for some time. It seems no matter how hard I try things keep getting worse." I watch Regina as I say all of this, and even though it is small I can see a part of her agreeing but I know that she still has some issues with it. "I want you to come with us Regina."

I watch as Regina's head snaps up to face mine. Her eyes glistening with tears, as I'm sure she was mentally preparing for me to say that I was taking Henry back without her.

"You want me to come along?"

It was the only time I've ever heard Regina sound doubtful in anything.

"You're his mother, Regina. You want to be a part of his life, then to do that you at least need to be in the same city. We have some time until all of this is decided, which means that you can take all the time you need to come to a decision. If you decide to come then we need a cover story, something to tell Henry why you'll be living with us."

I could almost see the thoughts going through Regina's head.

"I think you and Henry should go back to the city, I think he needs to have what's left of his childhood as simple and normal as possible." Regina told me, I could sense the 'But' coming a mile away. "But I don't know if I can leave this town."

I sighed.

"Regina?" I asked quietly. "Can I say what I think?"

Regina snorted. "Don't you always?" She asked with a little of her normal amount of sass.

"True." I acknowledged. "I don't think you should stay here. If I was you I wouldn't want to stay here. Why would you want to stay in a town that thinks every time someone tries to kill them that it's you? They blame you for everything Regina, and while mostly it's true it seems to be a stigma that you can't escape. If you stay here then that is going to follow you around forever. If you come with us, to New York or wherever you want to go then at least you can have a fresh start, find a new life, meet a new man. Regina you could leave magic and fairy-tales behind, don't you want that?"

I watched Regina spark up.

"You think that would be easy!" Regina stood up abruptly and loomed over me. "This is my life, it was hard enough bringing a baby into it, how on earth do you expect me to be able to start all over again. You do remember that I cursed a town, we didn't exactly live like in the modern world. I don't know how to live in that world, I don't even know if I want to!"

I leaned back and looked at Regina. "You said you thought Henry should leave Storybrooke, don't you want to go with him? Don't you want to be a part of his life, even if he doesn't know it?"

If the conversation wasn't so serious it would have been fun watching Regina deflate when I pointed out something that she couldn't argue with, but I knew that Henry would have loved having someone other than each other to rely on. Also, there was nothing more that I wanted was for my son to grow up with parents. Something that I knew Regina would be happy to provide despite the problems that it came with.

Regina sat down beside me again, and I put my hand on her shoulder to bring some comfort to her although I wasn't the least bit surprised when she flinched, I was when she allowed it.

"You can think it over Regina. We have time, for we know we'll be dead in a week. If you don't want to leave then we don't have to leave but I think now Regina, we should be dealing with this together even if it means we have to give up something that we don't want to."

I got up slowly, giving Regina small smile. I had just started walking back to the diner when Regina called out.

"Emma?" She asked, just loud enough for me to hear her.

"Yeah?"

"What exactly would be giving up if we go back to New York?"

I sighed. "You mean aside from my parents, my new little baby brother or sister, a town where I have a salary job and friends?"

Regina chuckled. "Yes, aside from that?"

"Well, for starters I would be giving up a lot by being around you all the time. I would also be giving up magic permanently, though I don't really like it much anyway. But in reality I don't really lose a lot in this situation, I gain a lot. I gain another parent for my son, I gain another adult around permanently which I'm sure you are aware is pretty awesome when you're a single parent. I also hope that I gain a friend, if one day we can stop fighting over Henry and actually get there."

I turned around and started walking again, and heard Regina call out softly to me.

"It would be nice to have a friend."

I just kept walking, and didn't acknowledge her.

* * *

When I got back to the diner David and Henry were leaving for a boys night out that they had been planning with some of the dwarfs. I gave Henry a light kiss and told him to call me if things got out of hand.

I sat down with Mary Margaret, who just looked at me slightly sceptically.

"What were you and Regina talking about?" She asked.

"What we're going to do after we deal with Zelena." I told her succinctly.

Mary Margaret looked at me in shock. "And what are you going to do once we deal with Zelena?"

It was obvious from her tone that she was sure that whatever my pan was Regina was not going to be happy with it.

"Well, the plan I just pitched to Regina involved Henry and I going back to New York with Regina joining us."

If it had been possible I was sure that Mary Margaret's eyes would have bugged out of her head cartoon style.

"You cannot be serious, Emma?" Mary Margaret was somewhere between shocked and gobsmacked. "You are happy to leave us here but take her with you."

I sighed. It was a conversation that was bound to come up eventually, I just hadn't planned on it so soon.

"You have a new baby coming, Henry doesn't even remember who you all are and we were both happy in New York. Regina loves her son more than anything in the world, and I know she wants to be part of his life and if that means that he never remembers her then I think that is a price she is willing to pay."

Mary Margaret looked at me like I had slapped her.

"Emma." She sighed. "You know this baby isn't to replace you. Even before you remembered us and saw us again, this baby would never have been about replacing you."

"I know that." I told her. "You want a family with your husband, the family that you had to give up. I get it, I really do. But as much as you have to think about what's best for your family, I have to think about what is best for Henry. We can visit, like friends will. I want to see the baby grow up, but I think we need to do that separately."

I could see Mary Margaret coming around to my way of thinking.

"What happens if Regina doesn't agree?" She asked me.

"She already agrees that Henry needs to go back to the city, I told her that we were equals in this and that we had to agree on everything regarding Henry. She agreed to that, though she mostly looked completely shocked, but she agreed. Regina doesn't want to leave Storybrooke but I think she will come with us. Otherwise, Henry and I will be moving to Boston so that we are at least in the same state. He needs 2 parents and Regina and I are the closest he is ever going to get."

Mary Margaret sighed. "You've really thought this through, haven't you."

I nodded.

"This all happens AFTER Zelena is taken care of." Mary Margaret asked one last time.

I nodded again. "Otherwise we will all be dead and it won't matter to anyone."

Mary Margaret cracked a smile.

We said goodbye and parted ways, she walked back to apartment while I went up to an empty hotel room. It was the first night in a long time that I was going to be alone and I wasn't sure what to do. I think I was just going to go to bed early.

When I got to my room I was shocked to see Regina sitting outside my room, looking like she had been crying.

"Regina?" I asked quietly, I didn't want to startle her and I wasn't sure if she had noticed me.

"I've been thinking about what you said." She told me. "You were right, about it all. As always."

I smiled as I unlocked the door.

"Come inside, we can talk."

I got us both a glass of wine, and noticed Regina sitting down in Henry's favourite seat. I couldn't help but smile, even with no memories they were still so similar.

"I'm leaving Storybrooke with you." Regina told me.

It was just like Regina to tell you something life altering without giving a single emotion away in the sentance.

"Okay." I answered, not sure how to respond to that anyway.

Regina lifted her head to look up to me.

"What happens when we leave?" She asked me.

I smiled. "Henry and I have a 3 bedroom apartment in Manhattan. You can stay with us until you don't want to any more. When we get there and get settled in we can discuss whether we want to stay in Manhattan or go somewhere else. How does that sound?"

Regina nodded.

"I should go." Regina said suddenly. "I need to pack, figure out my life and figure out how to deal with Zelena."

"Alright. I'll see you later." I told her.

Closing the door behind Regina, it hit me what I was getting myself into. Regina, the woman who had tried to kill my mother more times than I could count, tried to kill me more than once, was coming to live with me indefinitely. I was definitely getting myself into some trouble.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of my first Once Upon A Time fic. This will be SwanQueen eventually, I promise but it may take me a little while to get there. I have to say at the moment, I'm not 100% sure about this story. I have a couple more chapters but I do want to know if people enjoy it. If I get a good response from this story (follows, faves, reviews, whatever) then I will keep going I promise, but at the moment it is very much in experimental stages.  
Also, I often give updates and spoilers on twitter, fell free to follow me on there for more information. (**buffy1242**)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I wanted to thank everyone for the response from the last chapter. I have to admit I was totally amazed.  
****Just something I wanted to mention:  
A wonderful reviewer pointed out to me in the last chapter that Boston is indeed not in Maine. So, I promise I totally knew that... I ummm... I'm actually not too sure why I said it was at this point, but I'm actually not going to change it. Mostly because my first chapter is actually on another computer and it would be at least a month before that would be possible. Also, this is really a rough first draft and one day when its finished and I go back and edit it properly that will be something to add to the list of things to change.  
I am so pleased that you all seem to be enjoying this story and I look forward to all of your support as I continue.  
If you would like spoilers and news then feel free to follow me on twitter (**buffy1242**) and I post all the time about my stories.**

**Enjoy the new chapter.**

* * *

We all limped back into Mary Margaret's apartment. Regina was being held up by both Hook and myself, while Mary Margaret and David were leaning against each other for no other reason than they weren't happy to let each other go yet. Regina had used up most of her energy and mine from magic, it had been worth it but now that it was all over we still had to recover.

"Mom?" Henry called down the stairs as he came down to see us all in various states of distress.

"What happened to you all, and why did I have to stay here?" Henry asked as he ran towards us.

Hook and I lead Regina over to the sofa where we helped her down comfortably, and she promptly fell asleep not that she had been far away from that before.

I turned to face my son who was looking at us all worriedly.

"Henry." I sighed. I was tired and sore and I wanted to crawl into bed and not wake up for at least a couple of days. "It's been a long night, a long couple of days even and right now I'm exhausted. Can we just go upstairs and go to sleep and I will tell you some good news in the morning."

Henry looked at me questionably, but softened when he noticed my yawning.

"Okay." He said.

I turned to Mary Margaret and David. "Can we talk about this again when we are all conscious again?"

"Of course, Emma. Goodnight Henry." Mary Margaret answered as she and David went into their room.

I headed upstairs to my room behind Henry as something interrupted me.

"Swan? What am I supposed to do?" Hook asked as it was obvious that I hadn't even thought of him.

I turn around and look down at him. I'm too tired to deal with his feelings at the moment.

"Go back to where you are staying?" I ask hoping that will get rid of him.

"I was staying on my boat, but we kind of destroyed that a few hours ago... remember?"

"Oh." I sighed. Regina was on the couch and wasn't going to be moving any time soon, Mary Margaret and David had their room and Henry and I had the remaining beds. Unless Hook was happy with the floor he was going to have to find somewhere else for the night, which was automatically going to be my problem as it was kind of my fault he didn't have a boat any more. "The keys to my room at Granny's are on the table. You can stay there."

I continued walking up the stairs and eventually heard the door open and close, I assumed it was Hook leaving to stay in my hotel room.

As I got into my bed I heard Henry roll over and look at me.

"What happened tonight, Mom?" He asked me quietly. "Was this about what happened to my Dad?"

I sighed.

"We finally got rid of the woman who caused your fathers death. It's a long story, one I will explain later but she didn't actually kill him. It was hard and it took a lot out of us, mostly Regina. We fought hard, and we almost didn't make it out of that alive." I told Henry.

"I'm glad you're alright Mom." He told me.

We were silent for a few minutes, I was trying to calm myself down while I hoped Henry was going to sleep but that thought shattered when Henry spoke up again.

"What's up with you and Regina?" Henry asked me.

"What do you mean?" I asked back.

"You both don't seem to like each other much, but you have this... I don't know, understanding I guess. It's weird, I've noticed you have defended her against Mary Margaret and David but then occasionally you seem to fight with her too. I don't get it."

I sighed. "Oh, Kid. Trust me when I say, that friendship is nothing but complicated. Speaking of Regina, what do you think about her?"

Henry was quiet for a moment, he was thinking.

"She seems nice. She's kind of weird around me though." Henry told me.

I couldn't help it, I laughed a little.

"What's so funny Mom?" Henry asked when he heard me laugh.

"There are so many reasons Kid." I told him, still chuckling slightly. "But a lot of it comes back to what happened around the time you were born. You remember how I was going to give you up for adoption."

"Yeah." Henry told me. "You wanted me to have the life you never had."

"Yeah, Kid. I did want that for you. Well I didn't find out for a long time, but she was the person who would have adopted you if I had followed through with my plan." I told him. I just hoped Regina didn't gut me alive for that.

"Really?" Henry asked amazed.

"Really." I told him. "She would have given you a wonderful life, and I would bet that you would have loved it very much. Which reminds me, Regina's coming to live with us in New York."

"What?" Henry sat up, obviously I had caught his attention.

"She needs to start over, Kid." I told him, hopefully calming him down a little. "She's had it pretty rough the last couple of years and she needs a clean break. This is something that I can give her. You don't mind too much do you, Henry?"

Henry sighed. "No, I don't mind. It's just going to be weird not being the two of us."

I laughed, and watched Henry relax and lay back down.

"You have no idea, Kid."

* * *

When I woke up the next morning Henry was no longer in the room with me. I wasn't too surprised, while we were both late risers Henry was almost up before me and I also had the added exhaustion from yesterday to add to my excuse.

I was standing on the landing at the top of the stairs and it had taken a few minutes to register the voices floating up to me. At first I thought it was Mary Margaret that Henry was talking to but there was no mistaking the voice floating up towards me. Regina.

"Mom said you're coming to New York with us?" Henry asked.

"Yes, I think I am." Regina answered him. "I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not." Henry told her. "Mom told me some stuff about you, I can't wait to get to know you when your not the mayor of the town."

I could almost hear stiffen at what I might have told Henry.

"And what did she tell you?" Regina asked in a less icy tone than what would have been directed to anyone but Henry.

"That you had had a couple of crappy years and that if Mom had given me up for adoption when I was born like she had wanted to that I would have grown up with you. She said you would have given me the life that she had always wanted."

There was silence for a few moments, I admit I was wondering if she was going to attempt to murder me in my sleep.

"She said that?" Regina asked Henry so quietly that I almost didn't hear it. It sort of sounded like she was about to cry.

"Yeah." Henry answered confused. "She also said that the friendship you have with her is nothing but complicated but I think she likes you more than she lets on."

"Really?" Regina asked. I could hear the shock in her voice.

"Of course, she wouldn't invite just anyone to come live with us." Henry told her. "You obviously rate higher than Mary Margaret or David."

I heard Regina chuckle lightly. "That's funny Henry, but she defiantly likes them more than me."

"It wasn't a joke. If she liked them better, then they would have been invited and not you." Henry told her, I could hear the sincerity in his voice. I made a mental note to find out what else the kid had been saying about me behind my back.

It was also time to interrupt that conversation before it went places that I knew neither Regina nor I would like.

"Good morning." I said to everyone in the room as I walked downstairs.

Regina and Henry were the only ones up, as it was noticeable that their conversation had not woken Mary Margaret nor David.

"Morning." Henry replied, while I got a nod from Regina.

"Hey, Mom. Guess what?" Henry asked as I came and sat next to him.

"What's up, Kid?"

"Regina makes the most awesome breakfasts and she can cook better than us. She said she will make us stuff when we get back to New York."

Henry was so excited, that I smiled in return. His enthusiasm was contagious and it was easy to notice Regina was thrilled that Henry was finally opening up to her.

Regina smiled at me warmly as she thrust a plate containing a wonderful bacon and egg breakfast underneath my nose.

"Thank you." I told her before digging into what was the most amazing meal I had had in a long time.

"Ahhhh..." I sighed as I ate. "I had forgotten how amazing your cooking was."

Regina and Henry both looked at me.

"When did I ever feed you before?" Regina asked in the tone that said 'tell the truth or else'.

"You mean aside from the apple turnover that I never actually ate?" I could back as good as I got and seeing the slight look of apology from Regina was totally worth it. "There were a couple of nights that we had dinner together, remember? There was also the meal you made for when Mary Margaret and I got back from... visiting your mother."

Regina looked shocked for a moment. "You know, I had actually forgotten about those dinners, but I do remember the party that everyone kicked me out of."

"I didn't." I insisted.

"I know." Regina sighed, leaning against the bench.

Sometimes Regina was just so hard to deal with. Living with her was going to be a nightmare.

"Excuse me." Henry popped up. "Explanation please?"

Regina and I shared a look of terror.

"Perhaps someday when your older, Kid. For now be glad you don't know anything about it."

"That bad, huh?" Henry asked the room in general. Regina and I both nodded in agreement. There were some things that Henry never need know about, even if he had lived through them.

Henry and I continued eating while Regina cleaned the kitchen to her spotless perfection. I couldn't help roll my eyes when I noticed.

"Why were you and Mary Margaret visiting Regina's Mom with out Regina, Mom?" Henry asked when he finished. From the look on his face this was the thing most troubling him about what we had been talking about.

I stalled, not even daring to look up at either Regina and Henry. "We didn't have a choice." I eventually settled on telling Henry. Even Regina looked relieved at that explaination.

"What do you mean?" Henry pressed further.

"Sometimes, Kid. When people demand it, you must be where they want you to. That's the way it is when you have a big family." It was the first thing that popped up into my head.

I noticed Regina had stiffened at what I had said, and Henry was still looking confused.

"You and Mary Margaret are related?" Henry asked Regina.

Regina looked shocked. That was not something that she liked to bring up ever and I wasn't sure how to deflect Henry from that line of questioning. Before either Regina and I could think of something else, another voice entered the conversation.

"She's my stepmother." Mary Margaret told Henry like it was no big deal, which obviously wasn't how Regina felt about that. "Why are we talking about the family tree?"

Mary Margaret looked at us slightly confused as she grabbed a cup of tea, still annoyed at her pregnant belly for not allowing her coffee.

"Aren't you both the same age?" Henry asked.

"I was 12 and she was 20 when she married my father." Mary Margaret answered as Regina obviously wasn't going to, she had gone a rather pale shade and looked dangerously close to fainting.

"Oh." Was all Henry said as I raced around the bench to catch Regina before she collapsed and hit her head on the floor.

"Can we talk about something else?" She asked weakly as I placed her gently on the floor.

"Yes." Mary Margaret and I both said unequivocally.

"I was thinking we should leave for New York sometime tomorrow, that work for you Regina?"

* * *

**So I totally can't remember if Regina has ever actually cooked for Emma in cannon, but for the purposes of this story she has.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Chapter 3! YAY! :)  
****I want to thank everyone who is reading that. You make it all worth it. I hope you are enjoying it, because I'm really loving writing it.  
Remember if you want updates or spoilers, please follow me on twitter (**buffy1242**). Love you all so much! Enjoy!**

When Regina and I had finally agreed on a leaving time of about 11am, Mary Margaret insisted that the town throw Regina and I a leaving party. I wasn't thrilled about it, Regina even less so but Henry seemed to like the idea. He had made some friends here, mostly people he had been friends with before so I thought it wouldn't be too bad of an idea. All in all though, our leaving time left us only about 24 hours to pack, have the leaving party and leave.

"Emma?" Regina asked, quietly.

"Yeah?" I replied, not even looking up from what I was packing. It felt both weird and wonderful to be going back to New York again.

"Can you come help me back some stuff back at my place?"

I snapped up to look at Regina. Regina never asked for help with anything, why would she ask now?

Regina looked at me pointedly. There was a specific reason she asked for help, that much was obvious from the look but I wasn't sure what the specific reason was.

"Of course." I told her.

I watched Regina let out a small sigh of relief before placing her emotions firmly behind a wall that was almost always there. Sometimes I wished things would be easier with Regina, but I knew that was never going to happen.

"How much stuff?" I asked her. At her questioning look I elaborated. "Do we need to take something bigger than the bug?"

"No," Regina sighed reluctantly. "We will fit everything in your death-trap."

I smirked. "You might want to get used to the death-trap."

"Why would I do that?" Regina asked in a tone that suggested she would do no such thing and you would be firebombed to death for even suggesting it.

"Because that death-trap will be driving you to New York." I grinned at the look of utter horror that she displayed.

"I have to sit in that… that… that THING for SEVEN HOURS?" Regina shouted at me.

I continued grinning at her. "How else do you propose we get there?" I asked politely, in a sweet tone which only angered her more.

Regina continued to glare at me, realising that she had been beaten.

"Let's just go to my place." Regina tells me reluctantly. "There are things to deal with there."

I'm still grinning at how easy it is to wind Regina up as I watch her leave Mary Margaret's apartment. I really do wonder how long we will be able to live in the same house before we destroy it. Thank god there is no magic in New York, otherwise there would be no city left by the end of the week.

* * *

"There are some things we need to talk about." Regina tells me as we walk up the path to her front door.

"Oh, really?" I ask, wondering what she is on about now.

Regina opens her front door and then leads me to her private study where she then pulls out several folders and a small portable hard drive.

"This is everything about my main source of income." She tells me as I take a seat in front of her desk.

I look at her; the confusion I am feeling is something that I know is showing on my face.

"When I came here from the enchanted forest, I added as part of the curse a built in fall-back for me in terms of income in case I lost my job or the curse broke and I had to run. There are a few of these around, but this particular one is something that I'm sure you will be interested in. This is my real estate portfolio."

I look back down at her desk, the only things on it are her computer, a photo of her and Henry from about 5 years ago and everything she has just grabbed. It covered most of the desk.

"How much real estate do you have?" I asked quietly, not really sure what I'm supposed to do with this information.

"I'm honestly not sure. As part of the curse I arrived with a couple of houses, an apartment building and a business in most states. Over the years I invested most of it into more real estate. My annual income is roughly 6 million per annum from this portfolio alone. That doesn't include the businesses and stocks."

Holy crap. I always knew Regina was rich, but I never realised how much. Over 28 years that was a lot of money.

"I'm… ahh… I'm not sure why you're telling me this." I said to her, still staring at the numerous folders littered over her desk.

"Because I thought you and Henry might like to choose one of the New York homes in here for us to live in. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not really an apartment person." Regina told me, so matter of factly she might as well have been telling me that Henry and I were related. It was typical Regina.

I gave her a warm smile.

"I think we would like that, I know Henry won't mind so long as you have one that means he can stay in the same school. He really likes his school." I told Regina.

Regina nodded. "I'll take the New York ones and put them together for Henry to browse on the trip down."

I nodded to her, looking around at the rest of the house.

"What are you going to do with this place, Regina?" I asked her. It was a nice house, and even if the town held memories that Regina would be better off forgetting she had a lot of stuff in this house that I wasn't sure she wouldn't lug all the way to New York City, even if the only reason was to piss me off.

"You mean all my stuff don't you?" She asked.

I nodded.

"Well, most of the books are magic and I won't need those. I can't take most of the photo's of Henry and I and there are hardly any others worth taking. Henry's stuff will stay in his room as he obviously doesn't want it or need it and he has mostly outgrown it anyway. Other than that, there isn't really anything I want to take." Regina told me.

I could see the sadness in her eye's. She didn't care about the books or even Henry's stuff but like any other Mom, she did care about the photo's.

"Pick out some photos." I told her. "I always have a couple of safe's lying around for work stuff. You can put your photos in there where Henry will never see them. You can keep some of your memories, Regina."

Regina looked at me in awe. "Thank you Emma." She said so quietly and so sincerely that for a second I genuinely wondered where Regina had gone and who this new person was.

Regina and I looked at each other for a moment, it wasn't an awkward look it was an understanding look. From the false memories, I now knew what it meant to be a Mom and to want the reminder of years gone by as close as possible.

After a moment I stood up and made my way out the door.

"Come back to the apartment when you're done?" I asked her, letting her know that she can take as much time as she needed.

Regina gave me a soft smile, one that I always thought had been reserved for Henry.

"Thank you, Emma. For everything." She said by way of reply.

I smiled back. I was almost at the door when I turned to remind Regina about the leaving party tonight.

"You can come without fear that they will have pitch forks and torches." I told her.

Regina laughed. "I might see you there; otherwise I'll be back at the apartment."

"Okay." I told her, "It won't be the same without you."

I left then, walking back to my car. It was easy to see that as much as Regina didn't want to stay in Storybrooke any longer, she was finding it hard to leave. Though at least she didn't have to worry about income unlike some of us, and Henry was going to be thrilled to live in a house.

* * *

"Hey Kid." I said as soon as I walked in the door to Mary Margaret's apartment and saw Henry sitting at the dining table.

"Hey Mom." Henry replied, glancing up at me only to go back to what he was doing straight away.

"What're you doing?" I asked, coming around to glance down at whatever was on the table.

"Just some schoolwork. I haven't finished it all and now we're going back I have to get it done." He told me offhandedly.

"Mmhmmm." I replied. It was well known to my son that I was not the best help for schoolwork. "If you wait for Regina to get back I'd bet she would love to help you."

Henry snapped up to look at me. "Really?" He asked in a tone that was both cautious and grateful to any help being offered.

I headed to the kitchen to grab something to eat. "Yeah, Kid. She was really good at school, you can have some more help whenever you want it."

"Unless she becomes busy." Henry replied.

"Unlikely." I snorted.

"What do you mean?" Henry asked.

I stopped immediately. I didn't mean to say that. Oops.

"Regina has a lot of money. I think she needs a break at the moment, I don't think you have to worry about her being busy for a while." I told him. "Besides she would do anything for you."

"That's cause she almost adopted me, right?" Henry asks in a small voice.

I smile at him. "Yeah, Kid. It is."

Henry smiles back at me. "Regina seems pretty awesome, but I'm glad you kept me."

"Me too, Henry. Me too." I tell him giving him a quick kiss on the top of his head before running upstairs.

* * *

Regina laughed at the filthy looks Henry and I threw at her when we awoke the morning after the leaving party to leave for New York.

"You shouldn't have stayed so late then, should you?" She gloats as Henry and I continue to grumble about having to get up early to get everything packed with the movers that we have hired for Regina's stuff and some of my stuff that was left in Storybrooke last time.

"You could have stayed later too, you know. People are going to miss you as well." I tell her.

Regina laughed at me. "Yeah, right. Now, can we leave. The sooner we get going the less time I have left of sitting in that death-trap you call a car."

I glare at her again.

"Oh and Henry." Regina continues. "I have something that you might like to look at."

"Oh?"

"Em… Your Mom and I were talking yesterday and we thought that you might like to pick out a house to live in." Regina told him.

Henry just stared at her open mouthed.

"A house?" Henry asked.

"Yeah, Kid." I told him. "Regina owns a lot of property and she thought we would like some more space."

"This is awesome." He said grabbing the envelope out of Regina's hands.

I smile. "I thought you'd say that. Just pick one close to your school okay. Changing schools now is not an option."

"Yes Mom." Henry answers.

"Now get in the car." I tell him. "It's time to go."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm sorry its been so long since I have updated. Real life has been crazy.  
****If you want more current information about when I'm updating and what's going on with my stories then feel free to follow me on twitter (**buffy1242**).  
****I want to thank you for all the wonderful reviews, follows and faves. It makes me feel very special when I get those and I think you are all amazing.  
I hope you continue to enjoy this story. Hopefully another update coming soon.**

* * *

The look on Regina's face when we entered our apartment in New York city was equal amounts surprise and disbelief.

"It's clean." Was the only comment she made as she looked around.

"Of course it is." Henry told her in a voice that was quickly becoming his 'how well do you really know my mother' voice.

"Why wouldn't my apartment be clean, Regina?" I asked, knowing full well that the reason it was so well kept was specifically from the fake memories that she gave me.

She gave me a glare, I smirked back. Her glares had never scared me, they weren't going to start now.

"No reason, Miss Swan."

I sighed.

"You can call me Emma you know." I told her. "I've lost count of the amount of times I have told you that. I know you can. You call me Emma sometimes, so I know you can do it."

"Yes, but at the moment I can use it to wind you up. Much more fun." She tells me as she continues to look around the apartment.

I motion for her to follow me and walk towards the guest room.

"We've never really had guests before, so this isn't the greatest guest room but it has a bed. You can either come and share my bathroom or Henry's, I don't think he'll mind either way and I know I don't. We're obviously moving soon so it isn't something to worry about at the moment." I tell her.

I watch Regina look around.

"It's better than I thought it would be." She tells me.

I'm unsure if this is supposed to be an insult or not.

"Thanks Regina." I tell her.

I watch from the doorway as she goes and sits on the bed. I can tell that she is thinking about everything that has happened.

"It'll be okay, you know." I tell her quietly and watch her snap her attention towards me.

"I know." I can barely hear her whisper.

I turn and walk out of the room to give her some alone time. As I walk into the family area I can see Henry sitting at the table going over all the house choices in front of him.

"Can I help?" I ask him.

He looks up at me. "Where's Regina?"

"She needs some time to herself." I tell him.

From the look I get in return he knows that I am not saying everything, but thankfully he doesn't press for more information. I don't know how long I can keep telling him half-truths.

"What do you think of this place?" Henry asks as she shows me the paper with the information on it.

I give it a quick once over. Holy Shit! Eight bedroom, five bath, upper east side brownstone. We were going to be living in luxury when we moved. Typical Regina.

"Sounds good, kid." I manage to squeak out.

* * *

It takes over a month for all the stars to align so that we can move into the house Henry chose from Regina's real estate.

Living with Regina was an experience and a half, one that while I was enjoying it, I was very glad that neither Regina nor I had magic as I was sure the continental US would no longer be on the map anymore let alone New York… the city or the state.

We'd been pretty careful to keep our blow outs away from Henry but there was one argument about apples that we couldn't keep to ourselves and Henry was still asking questions about why he wasn't allowed to eat apples that Regina gave him, EVER! The worst part about it was because it started because Regina made apple turnovers, something that I can barely look at anymore, let alone eat. I'm sure Henry thought I was nuts, but even Regina couldn't argue that had she been in my position she wouldn't allow it either which was probably why it had been such a huge argument.

Henry was happy to be back at school and was happily bragging to his friends that he was moving to the coolest house ever as he had dubbed it. Regina was helping him with his homework every night and Henry had gone from a straight B student to a kid that got A's more often than not. Regina was on some sort of plan that I'm sure she had had for Henry since he was two to get him into either Harvard or Yale. Every time she mentioned it Henry laughed at her and said that he didn't want to go to an Ivy League school, he just wanted to go where his friends were going.

On the days where I got home early I almost always caught Regina in my secret safe looking at her pictures of Henry. I had 5 safes around the apartment; Henry knew of 2 and had the combination to one in case of emergencies. Regina knew about a 3rd, which was the safe I most commonly put big case information in as that was where she was storing her photos. Some days she would be looking longingly at the photos, others she was crying about her son not even knowing who she was. Sometimes she would invite me to sit with her and she would find a photo and tell me the story behind it. The photos would always be put away well before Henry got home, he had no idea that they even existed and both Regina and I agreed that it would be better if it stayed that way.

I decided that it would be best if I kept the apartment. I had bought it when Henry and I arrived in New York, and while I still had a pretty decent mortgage on the place Regina assured me that I would find a tenant quickly to take care of that. She promised that she would just add it to her portfolio and that would be that. Those were the times when I was really glad Regina was with us.

The day we moved into the new house was one of excitement and sadness. I loved the life Henry and I had made in out apartment, but I was looking forward to the life Henry and I would have with Regina. It was after all because of her that we had this life in the first place. Henry and I had spent the better part of a week sorting through all the stuff we had acquired since we had moved into our place. It wasn't that there was a lot of it, it was the decision of whether we should keep it or not. A ritual we had developed whenever we moved houses, a ritual that I now knew I had been doing since I left Tallahassee after Neal let me go to jail.

Regina was quiet most of the time. If I didn't see some emotions on her from the old photos of Henry I would be worried that she was planning on destroying the world, but I could also see that she just didn't have that in her at the moment. Losing her son to her own spells, fighting her sister, finding out about her mother's past and everything else that had happened when we were in Storybrooke, not to mention what had happened when everyone was in the Enchanted Forest for a year had left a battered woman who didn't have much fight in her.

Regina had lost her spark, sometimes it peeked out of her but often or not it didn't and I wasn't sure she was going to get it back any time soon.

I didn't spend much time with her over that month, between working some odd hours to make up for the time that I had been away in Storybrooke and the time that I had wanted Regina to spend with Henry we had barely seen each other apart from those weird afternoon's occasionally before Henry arrived home from school. Regina was a different person, and though I was glad she wasn't trying to kill my family anymore I wasn't sure I liked this woman who had no fight left in her, not unless it came to apples but I wasn't sure I liked that fight in that one.

The first tour of the new house had been amazing, the brownstone was 5 levels including a basement that had a private entrance. There was a backyard that was surprising large considering we were in the middle of Manhattan. Regina and I had claimed the top floor, we shared a balcony but each had separate rooms and bathrooms with Henry only one floor below us. He had his choice of rooms, but choose that level because he could have his own private lounge there as well as a lot of extra space should he have a few friends over. Regina was only too happy to grant him that and I could tell that she was happy he had friends, something that he had been sorely missing in Storybrooke.

Regina was great about the moving and supervised the movers one day while I was at work and Henry was at school. It took me a little longer to get all my stuff out of my secret hiding places and safes before we could say we were completely moved out but it was an extremely painless move otherwise.

Henry took great pleasure in setting up his new room and lounge, and had some ideas for the two spare rooms on his floor and what was going to be the main guest room on the floor below him. Both Regina and I were only too happy to indulge him.

The first night in the new house was amazing. We were all so tired from the stress of moving that even Regina slept in, but I heard her going downstairs around 8am so I'm not 100% sure that count's as a sleep in. It was the second night that I noticed something was off.

I had left the window in my room open, I was in an area in New York where I might actually get some fresh air if I did that. I was just getting into bed when I heard a strange sound coming from outside. I decided to see if I could see what it was from the balcony so I opened the door to peek out. I was surprised by what I saw.

Regina was sitting on the floor of the balcony, her back pressed against the wall, her knees up under her chin and she was crying. She was the strange noise coming through my window. I was positive she hadn't noticed me, she would have said something, told me to go away or at least moved into her own room had she noticed me but she didn't. I wasn't sure what to do. This was the woman who had actively tried to kill my mother for years, but this was also the woman who had raised my son to be the kind caring boy that he was. Before I could over think the situation, I pushed the balcony door further open and stepped onto it. I walked over to Regina and sat quietly beside her. I was still pretty sure she hadn't noticed me. I reached over and put my arm around her shoulders and rubbed her back as best I could reach.

She stiffened immediately. She turned to look at me, stunned that I would try and comfort her when she was like this. I admit I was a little shocked myself, but I wasn't going to let that show, not tonight, not right now.

The shock of me being there vanished almost as quickly as it came. Then the crying was back. She tried to curl up into the semi ball like state that she had been in before but I wouldn't let her, I pulled her shoulders to me so that I could at least try to hug her while she was like this. She protested for a moment before giving in and leaning against me.

I put both arms around her and pulled her close.

There was something that I really didn't like about her crying.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: OMG, I can't believe how long it has been since I've updated this story. Real life has been crazy and I can't even use the excuse that all the northern hemisphere people are using that it's the end of the school year (though I am neither in school/college or the northern hemisphere) but life has been crazy. I've got a few chapters ready to be published so hopefully it won't be too long between updates now.**

**For those that are wondering why I've been so absent recently, I've just started a new company and I have about 3 different projects on the ground with it including on that it is running parallel to the company and it is just taking up all my spare time. **

**I'm glad you are enjoying this story. If you want some more updates and whatnot, you can follow me on twitter (**buffy1242**) and then you're more likely to know when updates are coming.**

**Enjoy the update and more soon. XOXO Buffy**

I woke up in the most uncomfortable position, I was cold, I had something heavy on me and I couldn't understand why every time I tried to lean back I hit a wall.

I opened one eye groggily and was immediately confused as it looked like I was outside.

It took me a minute to realise that I was in fact outside. That also was not a very comfortable place to be in Manhattan in April. I looked down and realised that Regina was asleep all but on top of me.

"Regina." I murmured, trying to wake her without scaring her.

She turned into me more and gripped onto me tighter. I rolled my eyes, even asleep this woman was infuriating.

"Regina." I tried again a little louder.

"Stop." She grumbled.

I sighed. It looked like I was going to have to do this the hard way.

I pulled Regina into a position that made it possible for me to get up and lift her up at the same time. Still she didn't wake up.

When I was standing I looked to each sound of the balcony where the doors to our bedrooms were. I decided that I wasn't going to invade Regina's personal space, even if it was for a good reason and carried her back to my room.

I put her down on my bed and went to detach myself from her, when she gripped even tighter. Something that I wasn't sure was even possible.

"Don't leave." She murmured sleepily, though I was pretty sure she wasn't awake.

"Okay." I whispered lying down next to her. I was just happy to have somewhere comfortable to go back to sleep on. I just hoped that Regina didn't kill me when she woke up and realised what had happened.

* * *

When I woke up again at least this time I immediately knew where I was, something that was slightly comforting considering when I woke up in the middle of the night.

Regina was still on top of me. I never thought I would get to see her vulnerable side, and I was sure the when she woke up she was going to get her trying to protect herself and her bitchy side all in one. Oh what fun that would be.

I glanced over at my alarm clock on my bedside table and noted that it was 6am. I would have to get Henry up for school soon and get to work myself, and I had to make sure Regina was okay. This was going to be a fun morning.

I had a hand on Regina's back and started rubbing it, trying to bring her slowly into the world of the living. Regina was obviously not thrilled about this and tried to burrow deeper into my shoulder, not happy about being woken up.

"Regina." I murmured quietly.

"Go back to sleep" She told me.

That was all I needed to know that Regina was definitely not awake.

While she had been mostly docile and calm the past couple of weeks we had been in New York she would never show this open side to me, the daughter of Snow White and the birth mother of her son.

"Regina, come on. Wake up so I can talk to you before I get Henry up." I said quietly, still rubbing her back.

This seemed to get her attention.

Her head snapped straight up. She looked alarmed.

"What am I doing here?" She asked, shocked at the position she had found herself in.

"You were crying on the balcony last night. Then we fell asleep out there. I woke up about 2am and was going to put you in here and sleep downstairs but you wouldn't me go." I explained to her, I was still rubbing her back comfortingly and strongly suspected that this was the only reason she hadn't run from the room.

She look at me, and I could see the tears in her eyes.

"I asked you not to leave."

It wasn't really a question but I nodded anyway.

"You didn't leave."

Again it wasn't a question, Regina was in shock that I hadn't left her.

"Of course I would stay with you, Regina."

Regina looked at me, she was still lying on top of me and I strongly suspected that she hadn't realised out positions just yet.

"Why?" She asked me.

I looked at her back, the same confusion that was displayed on her face was probably displayed on mine.

"Why wouldn't I stay?" I asked back

"Everyone usually does." She said quietly laying back down on me, her head back on my shoulder like it was before.

I vaguely noticed how comfy this was, but quickly banished that thought to the back of my mind. It wasn't like Regina would ever allow this again.

"I of all people know exactly how that feels. I wouldn't do that to you Regina." I said.

"Thank you." I hear her say quietly. The only reason that I heard it was probably because her mouth was rather close to my ear. I wasn't thinking about that either.

"Regina?" I asked quietly.

"Mmmm?" She answered.

"Why were you crying last night?" I asked. I knew I was playing with fire, but I really hoped she would tell me whatever was bothering her.

I noticed her go slightly ridged on me. It wasn't hard to notice, considering she was on top of me.

She didn't answer me for a minute and I just let her gather her thoughts together, but then I felt something on my shoulder. Regina was crying.

"Hey," I said quietly. I put a finger under her chin and pulled her to face me. I looked straight into her eyes. "What's wrong? I'll do everything in my power to fix it."

Regina just smiles at me. "You can't." She says quietly.

I just look at her for a moment, then I realise.

"It's about Henry, isn't it?" I ask.

She just nods.

"Well, you're right. I can't do anything about that. But I can help make it so that he loves you as Regina instead of his Mom. It's not much, but it's the best I can offer. I told him that you were supposed to be his Mom and he likes you as you now. But I have no idea where to start to getting his memories back. My question remains however, of all the crap over the last couple of years, would you really want him to have his memories back?"

Regina smiles a little at me. "I suppose you have a point. I'd quite like to forget some of the things that have happened recently."

I put my arms around her and hug her close. She puts her arms down and grips me tightly too.

"I know it isn't much," I start. "But I've been meaning to ask you, what do you think about fostering a kid or two? Between your Evil Queen persona and my foster system experience we might have a chance to make a positive change in a New York kids life that would otherwise be 10 times worse than mine."

Regina looks at me again.

"What about Henry?" Regina asks.

"Henry is an amazing kid, thanks mostly to you. He can handle some foster kids. We can ask him, and if he says no then we don't do it. But I don't think he will."

Regina just continues to lay there, I can almost hear her thinking.

"Okay." She answers after what feels like forever.

I give her a small smile.

"Do you want to do breakfast and lunches today?" I ask, not making any move to get up but wanting to prepare Regina and myself for the morning rush of Henry and I that she has become so accustomed to in the past few weeks.

"Yeah. Can I ask Henry about this? It might be better coming from me." Regina asks quietly. She is still not secure in her place in Henry's life. I don't blame her, I'm not sure I am either.

"Sure." I tell her.

We lay there for a few more minutes in comfortable silence, right up until my alarm clock goes off.

I turn to my side slowly so Regina and I are both on our sides facing each other. I lean up and place a quick kiss on her forehead.

"Everything'll be okay. You'll see." I tell her and then get out of bed to get ready for the day.

* * *

The next time I see Regina she is in the kitchen with Henry.

Henry is grinning at her, and I can see that she has been busy making breakfast for all of us and lunches for Henry and I.

"What's up?" I ask when I see Henry grinning at me.

"Regina says she's going to foster a kid. How awesome is that?"

I smile at Regina, very much a 'told you so' action.

"You're okay with that? They'd be living here, and things would change including some of the rules I have for you." I ask Henry, just making sure that is completely okay with it even though I knew he was.

"Of course. I know how much you hated foster care, a chance to give someone a decent foster home is pretty awesome." Henry tells me. I can see he is excited.

"Alright then." I say to him.

I sit in front of the amazing breakfast that Regina has produced for me. Pancakes are always a good start to the day.

"Thanks Regina." I tell her before digging in. After a while I am ready to speak again.

"So what are you going to do today, Regina?" I ask.

Regina just looks at me, and shakes her head.

"I was thinking about going to find children's services and finding out what I need to do to become a foster carer." She told us.

"That sounds wonderful." I tell her.


End file.
